If Lamo had broken into the physical NYT building there would be very little debate about whether to prosecute or not. However, because his break in was virtual and "caused no harm" there is a desire to treat this as a badge of honor. However, harm was done to the reputation of the NYT in the general media and the privacy of individuals was compormised. This is something that laws do protect against and should be applied to. If the security hole was found and reported to the NYT immediately, there might be some room for latitude. Everything could have been kept quiet, and the NYT could have decided not to press charges. At the point that a crime is committed, and everyone knows about it because the hacker is trying to feed some need for attention, then they must face the consequesnces of their actions.

Hacking into computer networks is breaking and entering as surely as kicking in a weak door to enter soemone's house. Just because the house does not have steel doors, dead bolts and a state of the art alarm system, the police do not say that you were asking to be broken into and congratulate the thief. It is time for the virtual world of the Internet to come into alignment with the realities of privacy and personal property of the physical world.

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Link to this comment: http://www.securityfocus.com/comments/articles/358/11574#11574